Housing Mediation and Training Services

MWI offers housing mediation and training services for housing sites that are not participating in the MassHousing Tenant Assistance Program (TAP). These services are designed to help residents, staff, management, board members, and other interested parties resolve conflict effectively and productively.

The following services are included in the dispute resolution program:

Mediation

A mediator (neutral) will come to the site to help people in conflict reach resolution. Mediation can be between tenants, tenants and staff, staff and staff, staff and management, as well as management and management.

Mediation is a process in which parties agree to work together, with the assistance of a trained neutral, to explore their respective interests and generate options for resolving their dispute. The mediator helps to facilitate communication and has no power to impose a resolution. Mediation is a flexible process that allows the parties to discuss in confidence any issues they choose to address and determine the outcome.

Benefits of mediation include:

• High Success Rate
• Convenience
• Self-Determined Outcome
• Time Savings
• Preservation of Relationships

Examples of disputes that have been mediated include noise through the wall, floor or ceiling, deteriorating friendships, housekeeping issues, poor relationships among staff, evictions, and groups not getting along or not willing to share common areas.

Facilitation

Board members, managers, staff members or groups of tenants can utilize facilitation to assist them in having a productive conversation. For groups of residents, these sessions are often called “community discussions.”

Facilitations have been used to address issues regarding the overall unhappy tone of the residents at a site or large spread issues. This tone is often described as “negative” or “a broken building.” Other examples include addressing cultural and ethnic tensions and dealing with an inactive or disbanded tenants’ council.

Consultation

Sites can be paired with a neutral who will provide consultation via phone or Zoom, often the same day, or schedule a meeting at the site. Consultation services have been utilized by RSCs, property managers, staff, and residents to discuss conflicts and options for resolving conflict

Workshops & Presentations

MWI also offers workshops for staff and residents. These 2-hour presentations called, “Building Peaceful Communities” are designed to introduce people to tools and skills to promote understanding, addressing, and resolving conflict.

TESTIMONIALS

“Mediation has been a helpful service at our site because it is something else we can offer residents. It is not just management finding solutions to their conflict; it is a third-party neutral helping residents and staff.” – Property Manager

“The mediators were very effective and brought more to the table than I originally understood. I was pleasantly surprised an agreement was reached.” – Resident

For More Information

Please contact Clarice Parsons at 617-895-4030 or cparsons@mwi.org.